Cleveland Museum of Art

Spouted Bowl

Date: c. 2573–2454 BCE
Medium: anorthosite gneiss
Culture: Egypt, Old Kingdom (2647–2124 BCE), Dynasty 4
Department: Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 152161

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

Both ancient Egyptian men and women loved cosmetics. Unguents, oils, and perfumes made from aromatic plant resins and gums were obtained at great cost from distant lands. The objects identified with cosmetics were given lavish treatment. The luxurious obsidian and gold beaker hints at the precious contents it once held. Others are fanciful in form, such as an ostrich egg. The god Bes, patron god of cosmetics, himself is the subject of a colorful jar. The delicately carved human face and the head of a giraffe decorated elaborate ivory cosmetic spoons.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. and various donors by exchange
Provenance: Formerly in the collection of John Huyett. Purchased from Peter Scharrer, New York